Powers: Set is a being of vast mystical power. He can send his power out of
his home dimension when called on by sorcerers. However, Set is not free to
actually leave his dimension physically, except for special circumstances.
Within his own pocket dimension, for some reason he looks very
disgusting, as if his normal body had been turned inside out, with his inner
organs outwardly visible.

Set grants power via the
Serpent Crown, and he can also control its wearers, forcing them to do his
bidding. He did not seem to control wearers of the
Cobra Crown, though.

Height: 50' (variable)Weight: 25 tons

History: (Thor Annual#10, Silver Surfer Annual#2/7, Doctor Strange III#9/2,
Doctor Strange III#11/2)
- Set was created by the Demiurge along with Gaea and Chthon as one of the Elder Gods
as one of the first example of terrestrial life. Set sought more power, so
he created spawn such as Sligguth and Damballah. To even further add to his power,
Set killed his brother Hyppus to absorb energy from him-becoming Earth's first
murderer; other Elder Gods imitated Set's tactics, leading to massive slaughter. Gaea, wishing to stop this,
gave birth to Atum, who banished many of the Elder Gods. Set and his spawn were
among the ones forced to leave Earth.

(Marvel Tarot) - Set's devoted
followers know him by seven names, each of which became linked to a mythic
serpent or dragon. Quite possibly Set had a "hand" in the development of the
prevalent serpent stories in almost every culture. The seven names of the
Serpent have also become connected to the seven deadly sins with each of Set's
heads possessing a specific deadly sin.

Set - Wrath

Apep - Greed

Ophion - Sloth

Tiamat - Lust

Lotan - Gluttony

Leviathan - Envy

Apocalypse - Pride

(Punisher Annual#2/4) - Set created a mystical affinity with
the dinosaurs which he used to absorb the life-energies released by their
violent deaths. Over millions of years, he amassed an enormous amount of power.

(Iron Man Annual#10/4 (fb)) -
Gaea became aware that the dinosaurs that had evolved on Earth had reached an
evolutionary dead end. She also realized that their existence prevented mammals
from evolving to their full potential and she shifted her attention to them.
Not wishing to lose his power source, Set ordered
the dinosaurs to destroy the mammals of Earth. Gaea dared
Set to face her, and Set appeared on Earth in a physical form created by the
fusion of the bodies of three dinosaurs. It was only after Set appeared Gaea
realized that she would need help fighting him and called upon her son Atum for
protection.

Atum
appeared and did battle with Set, cutting off his head in the process. However,
Set re-grew two heads for each one severed until he had seven (the number of
heads he retained subsequently), but during the course of the
lengthy battle, nearly all the dinosaurs of earth were destroyed except for an isolated
few in areas such as the Savage Land. With Set weakened, Atum in the form of
Demogorge proved victorious in breaking Set's control on the Earth. Set, due to
this battle, could not return to Earth unaided.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89#7, Savage
Sword of Conan#192 (fb))
<@ One million years BC> - Set brought about the emergence of
the serpentine race of followers. It remains unclear if they are his literal
offspring or he directed the evolution of Terran reptiles or man-apes to bring
about their emergence. They are a race either descended from or created by the
Elder God Set. For eons, there was a single scaly race, which did Set homage for
longer than the human mind can conceive. Then, for reason unknown, it split into
two distinct races--the Man-Serpents and the Serpent Men.

(Uncanny X-Men Annual#13/3 - BTS) - One day, before the
emergence of homo sapiens, two primate life forms went
to a special green haven. This haven had been created for two of their
ancestors by the time-traveling sorcerer Sise-Neg. As part of the course of the primate tribe's annual migration, the
tribe leader and his mate returned to this special place. This year, the tribe leader and his mate
found a strange primate tribe in Sise-Neg's haven.
One of these odd primates communicated with the leader and his mate
telepathically, saying "We are the tribe of Set". He informed them of
how Set fed them, keeping them warm and happy. The tribe leader and his mate
were offered membership in Set's tribe on condition that they slew the members
of their own tribe as food for Set, and bring Set's tribe to see upcoming
"visitors from the sky.". The tribe leader and his mate refused the
offer and attacked the Setian tribe. The Setian tribe revealed their true faces-the heads of Serpent
Men. The primate tribe drove the Serpent Men from Sise-Neg's
garden. Immediately after the battle, the "visitors from the sky"-the
First Host of the Celestials-arrived. Gaea was with them, imploring the
man-apes to come to the Celestials. Gammenon the
Gatherer scooped them up and brought them to the starship.
The Serpent Men, who thanks to Set had more
highly evolved minds than normal, approached the Celestials, asking them for a
boon. Arishem the Judge instead fired at them,
dispersing them.

(Savage Sword of Conan#39-43? - BTS) - The Serpent Men
apparently created the Cobra Crown (which drew on the power of Set) in pre-human
ages, to create "an empire of the Earth" from Valusia.
At some point, the Cobra Crown, which had been worn by the
kings of the Serpent Men, was hidden under a black shrine to Tsathoggua, guarded
by a living stone idol of the Toad-God. Presumably, Tsathoggua had formed an
alliance with Set. In any event, this shrine was located on the Nameless Isle,
and would not be found for years, due to the island being located far away from
any other land or shipping lanes.

(Official Handbook of the Conan Universe#1,
Marvel Team-Up I#111 (fb - BTS),
Kull the Conqueror I#2 (fb -
BTS), Kull the Conqueror
II#1 (fb - BTS), Kull the Conqueror II#2 (fb - BTS), Savage Sword of Conan#192 (fb))
<Distant
Past, Thurian Era, Pre-Cataclysmic Age> -
Over the succeeding
millennia the
Serpent Men harried the emerging homo
sapiens. For an epoch, the ancestors of humanity served the Serpent Men. They
also vied with other demonic or bizarre races (Elderspawn), such as the Harpies, Spider
People, and Wolf Men. Eventually, man became strong enough to defeat them. The
Serpent Men became enemies of King Kull of Valusia. In addition, Thulsa Doom
also worshipped Set.

(Conan the Barbarian Annual#8 (fb - BTS) - A group of Set-worshipping cultists named the Unliving sought to create a powerful leader
through human sacrifice, which they used to generate rapid pregnancy. Under
their control, one such pregnant woman gave birth to two children, one male, the other female. However, Kull
raided the cult's base, killing them. The two children were to be killed, but Tu (Kull's vizier) gave them to
shepherds. These children later gained the names Narcia
and Alexus.

(Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 (fb),
Amazing Spider-Man Annual#23/7 (BTS))
<Around 18000
BC> - Five centuries after Kull's death, the Deviants,
an offshoot of humanity created by the experiments of the First Host of the
Celestials, had emerged as the first developers of sophisticated technology.
Based in Lemuria, they conquered much of the Earth. Atra, a normal homo sapien of Lemuria, wished to unseat the Deviants. To that
end, he formed an alliance with the Serpent Men to create the powerful Setian object the Serpent Crown.
The Serpent Crown was presumably created as a replacement for the Cobra Crown,
which, as would become clear later, had not been manufactured properly.
Set linked the Serpent Crown with his mind.
Though the human alchemists were led to believe that the Serpent Crown would be
used to depose the Deviants, in fact Set transferred his allegiance to the
Deviants once the Serpent Crown was created. This was much to the chagrin of
Atra, who was the first to wear the Serpent Crown. Set refused to allow the
power of the crown to be used against his new worshippers, the Deviants.
Emboldened by their new deity, the emperor of
the Deviants, Phraug, ordered an attack against the
Second Host of Celestials, who were returning for a follow-up investigation of
the human race. The Celestials shrugged off Phraug's
attack and caused a massive nuclear explosion that destroyed the Lemurian
continent as well as damaging the Atlantean continent. This served as the Great
Cataclysm that ended this stage of world history. Atra and Emperor Phraug were dead center under the main explosion and died
immediately, but the power of the Celestials caused their skeletal remains to
be left preserved, as a warning about pride.

(Official Handbook of the Conan Universe#1,
Savage Sword of Conan#192 (fb), Conan the Adventurer#5/2 (
BTS), Giant-Size Conan#1 (article), Savage Sword of Conan#229 (
BTS), Savage Sword of Conan#230 (BTS))
<
Hyborian Age/ age of Acheron> - Some Serpent Men survived
the first, Great Cataclysm, which destroyed much of civilization. However,
later the Serpent Men were dealt a further blow when humans (who had lived on
the eastern coast of the Thurian continent before
enslaving and fleeing from the ancestors of the people of Khitai)
forging westward took much of the remaining Serpent Men-ruled territory,
setting up the kingdom of Stygia in the process, as well as Acheron. Much of
the activities of the Serpent Men in the following millennia are unknown.
Set was worshipped by both the people of Stygia and its related kingdom,
Acheron. Eventually, Acheron was toppled, but Stygia survived.

(Conan the Barbarian: The Skull of Set (
fb ) -
BTS) < chronology
uncertain> - In the city of
Eidoran, then a mighty but
decadent place, Set worshippers summoned forth demons such as
Khorus from an infernal dimension. The first followers of
Mitra hired their own sorcerer-who used a crystal skull to
focus his powers and bind the demons in stone. After this, the ruins of
Eidoran were guarded by the Mitran
clergy.

(Savage Sword of Conan#65 (fb) - BTS)
<chronology
uncertain> - Set became the foe of the demon Xka'Ahk.

(Savage Sword of Conan#216 (fb) - BTS)
- Stygians believed Set had a sister called Isuus.

(Conan the Barbarian I#144 (fb) - BTS)
<chronology
uncertain> - The town of Solvantha
was menaced by the Dragon of Set. At the edge of Cimmeria, the wizard
Rham-Sot, conversant with the "ways of Set", created the
Sword of Graven to deal with the monster.

(Conan the Barbarian Annual#8 (fb - BTS) - Narcia &
Alexus, immune to aging, achieved positions of power in the city-state of Tarsus
in the Border Kingdoms. While Narcia sought only to use her magical powers to
help others, Alexus sought power to conquer and destroy. Narcia was forced to
slay the physical form of Alexus to save her lover, Conan, from him; and she
then had Conan slay her form so that she could stop Alexus, whose non-corporeal
form had become immensely powerful. Their true astral forms grappled eternally.

(Savage Sword of Conan#40 - ) - Ninus, a former thief turned
Mitraic priest, attempted to sell the map to the Nameless Isle to Conan, but was
killed by the Setian priest Menkara and the corsair Zarano, who stole the map.
Arriving upon the Nameless Isle, Menkara, ignorant of the existence and location
of the Cobra Crown, stole only a copy of the Book of Skelos. Conan, however,
followed their trail, destroyed an idol of Tsathoggua, and discovered the Cobra
Crown.

(Savage Sword of Conan#41-43, Punisher Annual#2 - BTS) -
The Cobra Crown was stolen from Conan, eventually ending up in the hands of
Amazon warriors. Thoth-Amon learned of the near-miss of the Cobra Crown by
probing Menkara's mind, after which he located and claimed the Cobra Crown,
using it in an effort to usurp the leadership of Zingara from King Ferdrugo.
When Thoth-Amon removed the Cobra Crown to accept the crown of Zingara, another
would-be usurper named Villagro rushed forward and donned the Crown. Thoth-Amon,
with great effort (and assistance from Menkara), managed to overpower and slay
Villagro, who was unable to fully tap into the Crown's power. In the process,
however, Villagro burnt out the Crown, rendering it useless. Thoth-Amon and
Zarono fled Zingara and escaped Conan and its soldiers, while Menkara was killed
in the ensuing battle.

(Conan the Barbarian I#147 - BTS)
- Set managed to
recruit a turncoat Mitraic priestess named
C'Harona with promises of power. Set instructed her to free his "most
hideous demons" from "the center of the Earth". To that end,
C'Harona mesmerized the popular Mitraic
priestess Pelijah Lon and had her persuade the people
of D'eim to build a tower to Mitra.
In fact, C'Harona used the tower to hide a drill that was being used to burrow
into the Earth to free rat-like demons serving Set. C'Harona intended to use
these demons to help destroy the Mitraic
religion in D'eim.
Conan received an image of
Pelijah asking for help. Going to D'eim,
he investigated and found the truth. Eventually, C'Harona, as promised, was
transformed by Set into a powerful "hideous shrieking harpie"
(sic), but Conan and Pelijah Lon managed to destroy
C'Harona, and the rat-like demons were destroyed when the tower was demolished.

(Fantastic Four Encyclopedia, Marvel Team-Up
Annual#5 (fb) - BTS)
<chronology
uncertain> - Set influenced the development of the Midgard Serpent.

(Punisher Annual#2) - The Hyborian Age ended. Set
worshipped continued in Stygia (now Egypt). However, an upstart god impersonated
Set, convincing Set's worshippers that he was their deity….and that they should
call him Seth. Set, watching from his dimension, writhed in frustration, but could do nothing.

(X-Factor I#24 (fb), Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe#1: Apocalypse Entry) - The ancient Egyptians mistook En
Sabah Nur, later Apocalypse, for
both Set and Seth.

(Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#9/5) <2000 years ago> - Set sought worshippers among Atlanteans
enraged at the death of their loved ones at the hands of barbarians of Skarka. Neptune encountered this cult of Atlanteans after
speaking with Ossem, and destroyed them. They had attempted to summon
Set, and so a part of Set's life-force remained in a golden globe known as the Golden
Serpent.

(Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#9/5) <600
years ago> - Naga, leader of the undersea Lemurians
who had long ago found the remains of Phraug and Atra
but shunned them, told a man to retrieve the Serpent Crown for him.
Naga embraced the
Crown's power, and the Lemurians were
gradually mutated by Set to have a scaly appearance.

(Daredevil Annual#4B/6 (fb) - BTS)
- Set showed Naga how to treat the Serpent Crown with
material from certain strange undersea life forms, allowing Naga
to have an elongated life.

(Sub-Mariner I#10 (fb) / Daredevil Annual#4B/6 (fb)
- BTS) -
A group of telepathic Lemurians (later called the Ancients) stole the Crown.
They went to the Antarctic, finding Atlantean technology left over from the
creators of the Savage Land. They encased the
Serpent Crown in metal. One of the ancients, Pyscatos, years later gave in to
temptation and donned the Crown. Eventually repenting, he killed himself, and
set off an explosion.

(Avengers Annual#18/4, Saga of the Sub-Mariner#1 (BTS),
Sub-Mariner I#1 (fb - BTS),
Tales to Astonish I#101 (BTS), Iron Man and the
Sub-Mariner I#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#6-8 (
BTS))
- Set used his power to preserve a dynamo of the
Ancients, hoping that someday someone would again find the metal-encased Crown.
In 1920, Paul Destine traveled to the Antarctic
with Leonard McKenzie aboard the Oracle ship. Acquiring the Crown, Destine went into suspended
animation.

(Avengers Annual#18/4, Saga of the Sub-Mariner#1 (BTS),
Sub-Mariner I#1 (fb - BTS),
Tales to Astonish I#101 (BTS), Iron Man and the
Sub-Mariner I#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#6-8 (
BTS))
- Emerging in 1958, Destine took the name Destiny, and called the
Crown the Helmet of Power. Destiny attacked the Atlanteans who had since
relocated to the Antarctic due to Set's prodding. Wiping out
Namor's memory, Destiny left him to wander the streets,
alleys, and boweries for decades.
Destiny again went into hibernation.

(Avengers Annual#18/4, Saga of the Sub-Mariner#1 (BTS),
Sub-Mariner I#1 (fb - BTS),
Tales to Astonish I#101 (BTS), Iron Man and the
Sub-Mariner I#1 (BTS), Sub-Mariner I#6-8 (
BTS))
<Modern era> - Awakening and using his power to run for the
presidency, Destiny reached the apex of megalomania when he believed he no longer needed the
Serpent Crown for power. Taking it off, he tried to levitate to the street
after jumping off of a building. Set, urgently protesting Destine to regain his
senses, could not save Destiny from splattering on the sidewalk.

(New Mutants Annual#5/3, Sub-Mariner I#9-10, 12-13 (fb -
BTS)) - Namor took the Crown
to Atlantis, where it cracked its outer metal shell off, revealing the Serpent
Crown. Set used its power to enslave Dorma,
Ikthon, and others. Later, Karthon
found the Crown and returned it to Naga.
Naga died later after a battle with Namor,
and the crown was lost in an upheaval. (Much of this was observed remotely by
Ghaur.)

(Captain America I#180-182 (BTS), Marvel Team-Up I#84 (
fb - BTS), West Coast Avengers
Annual#4/5) - Krang found the Serpent
Crown. Directed by Set, he made contact with the Viper. They kidnapped Hugh
Jones, an oil executive, and made him wear the Crown, linking him to Set. The
Crown was later lost during a shoot-out between the Viper and the police,
falling into a sewer.

(West Coast Avengers Annual#4/5) <chronology uncertain> - The Gregory Hungerford Gideon of
Earth-S was presented with the Serpent Crown of Earth-S by his workmen, who had
found it while working on an oil rig in the Pacific. Directed by Set (or
perhaps his Earth-S counterpart; see comments), they presented it to him.
Gideon formed the Serpent Cartel, which included President Nelson Rockefeller.

(Web of Spider-Man Annual#5/4, West Coast Avengers Annual#4/5, Avengers
I#141-144, 147-149, 153, Annual#6, 154 (fb -
BTS)) Gideon allied himself with Earth-616's Hugh Jones,
who was still a thrall to the power behind the Crown. Ordering the Squadron
Supreme to assist Jones in defeating the Avengers (the Squadron remained
unaware that their president was possessed), the Serpent Cartel saw the
Avengers imprisoned within Roxxon's premises. However, the Avengers eventually
broke free, traveled to Earth-S, and acquired the Serpent Crown of that world.
They brought it with them to Earth-616. The Avengers foe the Living Laser
briefly possessed the Serpent Crown of Earth-S after that, but the Vision
dropped the Earth-S Serpent Crown into the ocean.

(Marvel Two-In-One#66 / Thor Annual#14/4 (
fb))
- Hugh Jones, still linked to Set, sent a workman to
reacquire the Earth-616 Serpent Crown from the sewer, and sent the Serpent
Squad to the Pacific to find the Earth-S crown. Uniting them into one crown, he
faced Stingray, the Thing, and Scarlet Witch in Washington, D.C.
Set battled the Scarlet Witch on the astral plane, but the Thing managed to
remove the Crown from Jones' head.

(Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 / Fantastic Four
Annual#22 (fb))
- The Thing had brought the Serpent
Crown to Project: PEGASUS for safekeeping. However, Set started bending the
workers at the Project to his will. Finally, one technician donned the crown,
and others fell to Setian domination. Quasar, head of
security, was also enslaved. The Project began bringing Serpent Crowns from
numerous alternate Earths to form one giant crown to summon Set. However,
Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, the Thing, and the Scarlet Witch arrived to thwart
this plot. Before Set could come to Earth, the four of them acquired the Cosmic
Cube (also held at the Project) and used it to shatter the immense crown, stop Set, and exorcise his
influence on the Earth.

(Silver Surfer Annual#1 (fb - BTS)/Fantastic
Four Annual#22 (fb - BTS))
- The spell of Doctor Strange was weakened when many of his artifacts disappeared
from Earth, taken by Agamotto for safekeeping. As a
result, Seth was able to use his power to contact the disembodied Deviant
leader Ghaur. Ghaur managed to reincarnate himself by tricking the Silver
Surfer. He set about a scheme to return Set to Earth, with Llyra (a priestess
of Set) helping him.

(West Coast Avengers Annual#4/1) - Ghaur and
Llyra retrieved the Golden Serpent, having earlier enslaved seven women to form
the Brides of Set. Using the Scarlet Witch's power, Ghaur activated the portion
of Set's life force in the Golden Serpent
to bring Set to Earth.

(Thor Annual#14) - Doctor Strange had summoned Thor earlier. With Quasar and the
Thing, the four of them flew to the scene of the battle and into one of Set's
mouths to access Set's pocket dimension. Set withdrew from Earth to battle
these four adventurers. Thor briefly returned to Earth to converse with Gaea,
but Set had cast a spell to trap her. Thor then went to Atum to try to persuade
him to battle Set. Atum refused, but Thor intentionally provoked Atum, causing
him to become the Demogorge again. The Demogorge consumed Thor, but Thor
managed to assert control over their melded form. Thor returned to Set's realm and
severed Set's heads from his body, tossing them to seven different parts of the
multiverse. Set's dimension began to collapse; the implosion of Set's dimension
caused his body to be destroyed before it could regrow its heads. Set's defeat
freed Gaea from Set's spell.

It remains to be seen if one or more of Set's heads will reunite, regenerate a
new body or return to Earth.

(Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch#1/3 (fb) - BTS) - Set
transformed Llyra into monstrous form and sent her to the ocean's depths to
guard the giant Serpent Crown.

(Mystic Arcana: Scarlet
Witch#1/3) - Nagala returned to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean where she
confronted the now monstrous Llyra, who begrudgingly let her enter the chasm
that contained the immense Serpent Crown. There Nagala invoked the seven names
of Set and formed a new Serpent Crown atop her head. Ian McNee manipulated
Nagala into a battle with Llyra, and he stole the Serpent Crown.

Comments
: Created/adapted by Robert E. Howard; adapted to the Marvel Universe
by Roy Thomas; first shown on panel by Frank Thorne.

Set is behind the scenes in probably
hundreds of pre-Cataclysmic and Hyborian era stories not referenced here. See
also the Serpent Men, the Black Ring, Thulsa Doom, etc.

So far as is known, Set was never depicted with seven heads or said to have
seven heads in any Conan story. It was when the Serpent Crown (which is in the
form of a seven headed snake) was tied to Set that Set was described as having
seven heads. In Marvel Two-In-One#66, Set was shown with one head. When this
story was retold in Thor Annual#14, Set was shown with seven heads.

These events are not mutually exclusive (and the Earth X and Ultraverse ones
are moot). While the presence of Asgardians around 65 million BC doesn't make
sense, the meteor fragments could have been magically sent back in time. Also,
time may not function the same way in a magical realm like Asgard. Anyway, That
Which Endures decision and the struggle between Gaea and Set could have occurred
concurrently. The magical energies of the the Mjonlir forge, combined with (and
possibly drawn through time to/by) the struggle between Gaea and Set, brought
forth either one immense comet or a fierce meteor shower that pelted Earth.
Without Set or That Which Endures to back them, the dinosaurs rapidly died off.

Marvel Two-In-One#66 had Hugh Jones create
images of everyone who had worn the Serpent Crown before him, and one of these
images was of Thoth-Amon. A later letters page stated
that at some point Thoth-Amon wore the Serpent Crown.
However, Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 shows that the Crown was lost in 18,000 BC
and not rediscovered until long after Conan's time. So, this made it impossible
that Thoth-Amon could have ever worn the Serpent
Crown. Luckily, Thoth-Amon had worn the Cobra Crown.
When Thor Annual#14 retold the story from Marvel Two-In-One#66,
Thoth-Amon's image was shown wearing the Cobra Crown.

It was unclear for years whether each
alternate Earth in the multiverse has its own counterpart of Set or whether
only one Set exists in the multiverse. This was somewhat settled in What If
II#25 and Quasar#30, which showed an alternate Earth where Set was not defeated
by Thor. Presumably, the various counterparts of Set in the multiverse are in
communication with each other and work together. Another alternate Earth
version of Set is behind the scenes in What If I#39 (granting a boon to
Thoth-Amon.)

The Serpent Crowns exist or existed on
hundreds of alternate Earths. Besides Earth-616, and Earth-S, Silvers Surfer
Annual#2/1 featured a one-panel came of a wearer of a Serpent Crown of an
unnamed alternate Earth. What If I#41 featured an alternate Earth Serpent Crown
(as the Helmet of Power). At least 776 Serpent Crowns from alternate Earths
were brought to Earth-616 in Marvel Team-Up Annual#5 and destroyed. During
Atlantis Attacks, Ghaur and Llyra brought even more Serpent Crowns to Earth-616
to form one giant crown. Allegedly, Ghaur and Llyra brought all remaining
Serpent Crowns in the multiverse to Earth-616; however, What If II#25 shows
alternate Earth counterparts of Ghaur and Llyra bringing Serpent Crowns to
their respective alternate Earth, so the Earth-616 Ghaur and Llyra must have not
snagged all Serpent Crowns remaining in the multiverse, or else their alternate
Earth counterparts would not have been able to find any.

For the record, wearers of the Serpent Crown (s) include Atra, Naga, Destiny,
Dorma, Sub-Mariner, Krang, the nihilist Viper, Hugh Jones, Nelson Rockefeller of Earth-S and all other members of the Serpent Cartel of Earth-S, the Scarlet Witch, the Living Laser, the Thing, Quasar, Myron Wilburn, Pyscatos, the Destiny of an alternate Earth (What If I#41), and
an unnamed individual seen in one-panel of Silver Surfer Annual#2 who presumably came from an alternate Earth.
Pretty much the whole population of Project: PEGASUS wore
Serpent Crowns (777 in total) during Marvel Team-Up Annual#5--Snood Of course,
Thoth-Amon and Villagro wore the Cobra Crown.
Nagala has worn the new crown, and the Key was seen wearing a Serpent Crown in an issue of JLA/Avengers. JLX#1 showed the Amalgam Universe had a Serpent Crown.

At one point during Atlantis Attacks,
Thor says that he and the Thing had fought Set in the past. The writer of this
issue, John Byrne, missed that famous back-up in Punisher Annual#2 where
it was firmly stated that Seth is not Set, as Thor had never faced Set in a
recorded encounter before Thor Annual#14; he had rather fought Seth with the
Thing in MTIO#23.

Incidentally, Thor noted that Set is older than the Asgardians.
--Per Degaton

Counterpointby Donald Campbell

I think it should have been stressed that Set had created
a mystical affinity with the dinosaurs LONG before Gaea decided that they
should be replaced by mammals. Set used that affinity to absorb the
life-energies released by their violent deaths and, over millions of years,
had amassed an enormous amount of power. It was only after Gaea moved to
eliminate Set's power source that he directed the dinosaurs to destroy all
mammals.--Good point. So added. Thanks.

After Gaea dared him to face her, Set appeared on Earth
in a physical form created by the fusion of the bodies of three
dinosaurs. Also, it was only after Set appeared that Gaea realized that she
would need help fighting him and called upon her son Atum for protection.--Ditto

I'm not totally comfortable with the idea that the
extinction of the dinosaurs on Marvel-Earth was solely the result of the war
between Demogorge and Set. I would prefer that Marvel-Earth's history
followed (for the most part) the same path as the real world's history
did and in the real world it is believed that the dinosaurs died out during
a "nuclear winter" caused by the impact of a large asteroid.In
trying to reconcile the two theories, I first came up with the idea that
maybe Demogorge (or Set) had pulled an asteroid down from space to use as a
weapon against his enemy. However, that would mean that,
without intervention, that asteroid would have missed Marvel-Earth --
something which would be a significant divergence from real-world history
(in which that same asteroid DID hit without any help from Elder Gods). It
then occurred to me that maybe, like in the real world, that asteroid was
always going to hit Earth...and that maybe that was just something that
Demogorge used to his advantage. Suppose that Demogorge was sensitive enough
to celestial happenings to detect the approach of the asteroid before Set
could and, realizing that it was going to impact on Earth, saw a way to use
it to help both himself (in his war with Set) and his mother (with the
extinction of the dinosaurs). Suppose that Demogorge used his powers to make
the asteroid undetectable to Set and then manipulated the battle with Set
until his enemy ended up (unknowingly) right at Ground Zero, the projected
point of impact for the asteroid. This theory encompasses both the other two
without contradicting either of them. Yes, it was an asteroid impact which
doomed the dinosaurs but it was ALSO part of the War of the Gods.--Possibly. I listed only that the dinosaurs had mostly died out during
the battle, rather than ascribing the battle as the cause. Potential causes
of their deaths described in the MU are listed above. I have no opinion in
whether how things occurred in the MU match up with what happened in the
real world.I don't have any problem with the idea that the dinosaurs died out as a
result of the decisions reached by both Gaea and That Which Endures combined
with the negative environmental effects of the god-war between Set and
Demogorge (which may have involved a meteor or comet impact). However, I
ABSOLUTELY do NOT accept the idea that the gods of Asgard even existed 65
million years ago and I REALLY dislike the idea that the extinction was
caused by sparks from the forging of Mjolnir which had traveled back in
time. Don't get me wrong, I (generally) liked the final storyline in THOR II
but there were some story elements and/or continuity errors which just made
me cringe. The whole idea of hyping the importance of the Asgardians by
"revealing" that mankind would never have had a chance to evolve to
sentience if not for them was one such "creative choice" that I, well,
detest.--Your opinion is noted.

I don't believe that the Cobra Crown was created BEFORE
the Serpent Crown. I'm at a bit of a loss in arguing my point since I don't
have any of the Conan novels nor any issues of Savage Sword of Conan but
I'll do my best. The fifth part of the Saga of the Serpent Crown (in
Punisher Annual#2) begins with these two sentences: "I, Uatu the Watcher,
saw how the Serpent Crown, talisman of the serpent-demon Set, was lost in
the sinking of Lemuria. But Set eventually brought about the creation of
another such power object, known as the Cobra Crown, and around 12,000 years
ago he saw to it that it fell into the hands of the most sinister figure of
the Hyborian Age - - Thoth-Amon, wizard-lord of the land of Stygia!"

You can take things however
you want it, but I say this proves nothing. Set was created like 5 billion
years ago, and if he made something 4.975 billion years later, that's
"eventually" to me. The sentence structure would seem to hint that the
Cobra Crown was created later, but we know that's not the case. So even
though it would seem to be saying the untrue, we must go with the
alternative interpretation. It doesn't say he created the Crown in 10000
BC, only that it fell into Thoth-Amon's hands then.

Made Cobra Crown, but
found it inadequate, and so it was left hidden while Set made plans to
create the Serpent Crown.

It was later found by Conan, etc

In general, I like to try
to make all stories true and meld them together, but where two things seem
to be arguing which came first, I TEND to go with the original. Source
over resource.

I consider Uatu to be about as reliable and impartial
observer as you could hope to get and any "fact" that he states should
(almost always) be considered accurate. However, if we chose to disregard
Uatu's statement, is there any solid proof showing that the Cobra Crown was
created first? According to your profile on it, page 91 of Conan the
Buccaneer "makes it clear that the Cobra Crown was created when the Serpent
Men still ruled Valusia, which would have been before the Great Cataclysm."
However, as you pointed out yourself, novels are not generally made a part
of Marvel continuity so it is the adaptation of that novel that appeared in
Savage Sword of Conan#40-43 that is "in continuity." That leaves me with
some questions: Does the storyline in those Savage Sword issues also claim
that the Cobra Crown existed BEFORE the Great Cataclysm? If so, what is the
nature of the claim and how reliable is the source? For example, if a
character simply says that "legends claim" that the Cobra Crown was created
during the Serpent Men's rule of Valusia, I would find that statement
dubious (even if it was the "omniscient narrative" that made the claim). I
would only really consider a Pre-Cataclysmic origin possible if there were a
first-hand account of its creation by someone who was there at the
time...like Uatu, who says it was created later.
Also, in his commentary in the Saga of the Serpent Crown
chapter in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#9, Uatu says: "Both the Cobra
Crown and the Golden Serpent had been destroyed - - And so, Set decided, he
must find a new pawn to wear the first receptacle of his power, the long
lost Serpent Crown."I don't think that proves anything, for the same reasons. It could be
interpreted as first in importance, power level, or primacy.Savage Sword of Conan#41 has the smoking gun. The narration
says "For hours, Thoth-Amon has searched the astral plane for some clue to
the whereabouts of the Cobra Crown, precious relic of the Serpent Men of
age-lost Valusia."
Case closed.
--I'd go with the original description, and consider the Watcher's description to be as prone to error
as any writer's info.

I've always like the idea (first presented in Marvel
Team-Up Annual#5) that Jormungand the Midgard Serpent was one of Set's
offspring. And while I know that, in Norse mythology, Loki was the father
of Jormungand (and Hela and Fenris), I've always felt that Walt Simonson's
attempt to make that "fact" from the myths a part of the reality of the
Asgardians of the Marvel Universe was misguided. After all, before Walt
began writing THOR, there were over twenty years of Marvel stories about the
Asgardians which didn't mention any connection between Loki and his three
alleged children and so I've tended to discount any references to such a
familial connection. My own theory is that Loki has such an enormous ego
that he cast a spell which made all the Asgardians believe that he was the
father of three of Asgard's greatest enemies. As I see it, Jormungand
was one of Set's offspring who lived his own life until one day, thousands
of years ago, when he came to interact with the gods of an earlier
incarnation of Asgard and (somehow) became trapped in their Ragnarok Cycle,
dying and being reborn just like the gods of Asgard and their enemies did.--I see no reason to perpetuate that idea which otherwise seems to have
been abandoned by Marvel. My FFE entry lists Set as having had a fatherly
relationship with the Midgard Serpent, meaning he may have been his mentor.
Whether Loki called upon the power of Set in the Serpent's creation is
unknown, but the Serpent is Loki and Angerboda's offspring. Sorry.

I have a problem with the idea that the land known
as Stygia during the Hyborian Age is now the country of Egypt. Looking at a
map of the Hyborian Age, one can see how the Hyborian continent could be
rearranged so as to produce the modern-day continents of Europe, Africa and
Asia. After all, the basic shapes are all there, just squished
together somewhat. However, it's much more difficult to see how Stygia could
go from being on the western edge of the proto-African part of the Hyborian
continent to being on the northeast corner of the current African continent.
Since Stygia seems to be about where Cameroon is today (about 2,000 miles
southwest of Egypt), it would take a massive deformation of the Hyborian
continent to get Stygia to where Egypt is today and I just don't buy
it. Personally, I prefer the idea that, instead of Stygia and Egypt actually
being different names for the same land, ancient Egypt was a land that was
settled/conquered by people who left (were forced out of?) Stygia and moved
northeast after the end of the Hyborian Age.--That's how the information is presented. Sorry."Red-haired Vanir adventurers came into Stygia, where they overthrew
the reigning class and built up a vast southern empire which they call
Egypt. From these
red-haired conquerors the early pharaohs were to boast descent.........And
then, another terrific convulsion of the earth hurled all into chaos again,
carving out
the lands as they are known to us now. Great strips of the western coast
sank, and the mountains of western Cimmeria became islands later called
British. A vast
sea, later called Mediterranean, was formed then the Stygian continent broke
away from the rest of the world."

I'd replace the term
"soldiers of Skarka" with "barbarians of Skarka."--OK, but only if you get more fiber in your diet. ;)

According to Marvel Team-Up Annual#5, once a mystical
majority of 777 Serpent Crowns were brought to Project: PEGASUS, a spell
would be cast which would bring ALL the other crowns remaining in the
multiverse to Earth-616 to become part of a new physical body for Set. Since
that body DID come into existence (even though it was destroyed just before
Set could manifest upon Earth), it seems that that spell MUST have been cast
and that ALL the crowns had already been brought to Earth-616 by that time.
This is supported by Ghaur's statement (in Silver Surfer Annual#2/1) that
"the serpent has never forgiven this Earth for destroying its influence
throughout all reality!" I consider the destruction of the Serpent Crowns to
be a multiverse-wide event.--There are tons of stories showing something to be permanent or
complete, only to be shown that some aspect was temporary or partial. I
think this point is open, and as discussed in the comments, it is fine as
is.

The idea that Ghaur and Llyra created their massive new
Serpent Crown by bringing together Serpent Crowns from alternate Earths is
TOTALLY WRONG. It's a mistake which only appears in WHAT IF II#25 as part of
Uatu's recap of the events of the "Atlantis Attacks" crossover. If you read
the various "Atlantis Attacks" stories themselves, there is NO mention of
their new Serpent Crown being made out of other-dimensional crowns. Instead,
this Serpent Crown was a totally new creation. However, this is some
evidence of a connection to previous crowns. In Fantastic Four Annual#22/1,
Llyra states: "The (new) crown partakes of the very essence of all the
Serpent Crowns which once existed in many dimensions." While this statement
could be interpreted to mean that the new crown was made out of many of the
old crowns, I believe that the word "essence" is significant. Here's what I
think happened: In MTU Annual#5, ALL the Serpent Crowns in the multiverse
were brought to Earth-616 and merged into a single giant crown which was
then destroyed. However, the mystical energy (essence) contained within that
crown could not be destroyed but only dispersed. The newer crown created by
Ghaur and Llyra in "Atlantis Attacks" was designed to gather that
scattered essence into itself. This would also explain how Naga could appear
and claim that he was "summoned back from oblivion when (Ghaur) created
(his) massive new Serpent Crown." Apparently it was as Naga said: lying
dead-and-buried with the Earth-616 crown on his brow made Naga a part of it,
enough to be brought back when the essence of the previously-destroyed
crown was incorporated into Ghaur's new crown. The fact that Naga was
brought back could be proof that the new crown was NOT made up of the
physical merging of multiple old crowns. Since the crown with which Naga
was linked, the Earth-616 crown, was definitely destroyed in MTU Annual#5,
that means that it no longer existed physically and thus could NOT have been
a part of any new crown created by merging alternate Earth crowns.--So Uatu is always right in your above argument, but wrong in this one?
It is a debatable point.

Since Uatu's recap of "Atlantis Attacks" in WHAT IF II#25
was wrong, that means that there's no need to explain how "alternate Earth
counterparts of Ghaur and Llyra (could bring) Serpent Crowns to their
respective alternate Earth" in WHAT IF II#25. ALL the original Serpent
Crowns from across the multiverse were brought to Earth-616 and destroyed in
MTU Annual#5 but their combined essence remained on Earth-616 and was
replicated throughout the multiverse with each subsequent divergence of the
Earth-616 timeline. Thus, both the mainstream Earth and the alternate Earth
in What If II#25 had their own "essence of all the Serpent Crowns which once
existed in many dimensions" and NONE of the original Serpent Crowns existed
on ANY of their respective alternate Earths after the events of MTU Annual#5.--You're basing this whole argument on a questionable assumption, which
I don't see as certain.

Set has handbook entries in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update'89#7 and Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Other Monstrosities.

Profile by Per Degaton and Snood.

The Sons of the Serpent, a modern era hate
group, which has had a number of incarnations, starting back in Avengers I#32

The Soldiers of the Serpent of Earth-MC2,
an alternate future incarnation of the Sons of the Serpent, @ ANext#4

The Snakes of Many Colors, which are a
large and powerful intelligent, and even magically skilled serpents, many of
whom dwelled in the Unknown Land, @ Savage Sword of Conan#193.

(I didn't include objects, like the Cobra and Serpent Crowns,
or places, like Serpent Valley, or the Warpie Serpents, etc.
...and let me know who else I missed.
Thanks, good luck, and, HEY, let's be careful out there.